Block off this Sunday for our District 24 NAP finals, starting at 10:30am ET on Bridge Base Online.
Download the official D24 NAP Tournament Flyer.
What is the NAP Bridge Tournament?
The North American Pairs is the ACBL annual grassroots pairs tournament. Candidates begin their journey at thousands of local club qualifier tournaments, competing for the right to advance to their district finals. Afterward, each district sends their top pairs to compete in the national finals, face-to-face in the same room against each of the other district winners, at the Spring 2023 North America Bridge Championships!
While that might sound a little scary and intimidating, the NAP tournament is actually one of the most accessible and newcomer friendly tournaments at the national level. The NAP includes three brackets – one for pros and exert players (Flight A), one for life masters and strong intermediate players (Flight B, limited to 2500 masterpoints), and one for newer players who are non-life masters and have under 500 masterpoints (Flight C).
Generous Awards and Travel Subsidy
The NAPs also award a very generous amount of gold Masterpoints! Along with GNTs, the NAPs are one of two events each year that allows newer players to compete entirely in a field of non-life masters, all with under 500 points, and still win up to 12 gold/red points in one day of playing.
The top 4 pairs in Flight B and C, as well as the top 3 pairs in Flight A, will be invited to represent New York City and Long Island in the national finals during March 2023 in New Orleans. Last year, the 0-500 Flight C group had 6 pairs competing, with the top 4 invited to represent District 24 at the Reno NABC. The top 2 pairs received a travel subsidy and a Red Ribbon Qualifier, which also allows entry to the Red Ribbon Pairs held during the summer NABC (held in Chicago next July 2023).
District Support
Often times, a pairs game feels like it’s just you and your partner against everyone else. But this year in Reno and prior to that in Memphis, our district bonded together and felt like a united team. We cheered for each other as we worked through the qualifying sessions, genuinely happy to see more New Yorkers advance through four competitive sessions and take top spots in the final rankings.
Historically, the top pair in each flight will receive a $700 travel subsidy per person, and the 2nd place pair will receive a $300 travel subsidy per person.
Bottom Line
The North American Pairs is an excellent event with multiple flights for every level of player, with generous gold Masterpoints and travel subsidies given to the winners. We highly encourage everyone who made it through the club qualifier to give it a shot!